Hello,
I'm Ben, and am all new in this DV world. Today I have few questions. What is the different between Fisheye and Wide Angle lenses? and which one would be more important in pro shooting?
Exciting and good to join this forum. Thanks!

Howdy from Texas,

A good wide angle lens will present a wide field of view while keeping distortion to a bare minimum. A fish-eye lens, however, is much more extreme and will turn straight lines into curved ones. Others will have more input but this is it in a nutshell.

Here, you can compare a fish-eye:

http://www.centuryoptics.com/products/video/prodv/prodvfisheye.html

to a wide-angle adapter:

http://www.centuryoptics.com/products/video/prodv/prodv7x.html#

Hope this helps,

Thanks Chris,

I've seen some of those after market wide angle lenses out there, which I find them cheaper prices (<$200). Are they okay? cause they are made in Japan. does a .5x wide angle has a lot of distortion? what other things I should know to buy a wide angle or fisheye lens? FYI, I have a VX2000.

Thank you.

Ive heard that either the Mark1 for the VX2000 or the Mark2 Century .3x fisheye fits the good "old" VX1000, only the older mark 1 fisheye does.
But i was thinking, VX1000 has a 52mm lense and the VX2000 have a 58mm, would it just be possible with a step-up ring for the VX1000 to fit either the new Mark1 or Mark1 fisheye from century??
I mean, we are just talking about 6mm step-up....
Must be some way!

It would depend upon the design of the fisheye. If it is designed to be a certain distance from the front lens element, then a step-up ring would probably cause a problem.

I think you have to ask the manufacturer about that one.

Yeah I guess, I'll e-mail Century about it.
It's just that it's so hard to find a the old Century Mark1 fisheye for the VX1000, it's not old though, but for some reason Century don't make them no more.

i think that they still make vx1000 stuff:


http://www.centuryoptics.com/products/dv/3/chart.htm


make sure you get an exact match...the distance from camera lens to adaptor really matters a lot with these things. the model number must be specific to the camera as far as i have seen...
for example the 58mm screw mount version of the .3x fisheye fits the trv-900 with a stepdown ring and works great, the same lens 'fits' the vx-2000 and looks like crap.

i heard that the markI lenses have better glass than the markII versions

Im really keen on buying a used Century .3x fisheye for my camcorder(VX1000).
If anyone have one or know anyone who might have one for sale I would be very, very thankfull if you could post a message about it:)

Thank You!!

Will a 52mm vx1000 bayonet century .3x fisheye work on a vx2000 if I use a 52to58 step-up ring?? will there be any bayoneting or adverse aspects if i do this?

Only Century might be able to tell you. The best method is to try it. Vignetting is certainly a possibility.

what makes it so expensive?

The lens is so expensive because there is none to very little quality lost. Also, the barrel distortion is unbeatable compared to other fisheye lenses.When you use other cheaper fisheyes such as the raynox mx3000, quality is lost, and it isn't near as wide.

should i get bayonet mount or a screw on mount?

Usually bayonet mounts are sturdier. You might mention just a little bit more about what you are going to mount and to what.

for my vx2100

but will there be an difference in distortion using the bayonet rather than screw on mount? screw on seems like it will be further from the lense making more distortion, while the bayonet will be closer and minimizing the distortion?

The same lens with two different mounts still has to have its elements at the same position relative to the camera lens.

So if you mean optical distortion, there will be no difference. If you mean mechanical distortion, probably so slight as to be negligible.

The bayonet also attaches/detaches much quicker.

also, is there any difference between a "vx2000" century fisheye and a "vx2100" fisheye? i noticed the different focal lengths and such. does this apply between the cameras?

also, is there any difference between a "vx2000" century fisheye and a "vx2100" fisheye? i noticed the different focal lengths and such. does this apply between the cameras?

The Sony add-on lenses have about 2 to 3 times as many threads to unwind on my VX2100, as I have had with other cameras. This can be annoying, when speed is essential, even though it makes it a more secure and durable attachment. I would prefer them to have bayonet mounts for speed, but then, I couldn't use them on other cameras.

Distortion? You mustn't be worried about distortion when you're fitting a fisheye to your VX2.1k. Distortion is what you're buying.

If you're working fast 'n' furious the bayonet is the way to go, though I should warn you that Century's bayonet is much more akin to a breech-lock bayonet than a conventional on-turn-lock type bayonet. Screw threads are a pain in that you have to be so careful not to cross thread them as plastic doesn't take kindly to this treatment.

The downside - as has been mentioned - is that the Sony bayonet limits your use of this lens to a very small number of camcorders. If you go the thread route you can use the fisheye on an HC3 up to a Z1, simply by using thread adapters.

tom.

can i use a bayonet mount century fisheye thats for a vx2000 for my vx2100??

Yes, you certainly can. The bayonet lugs on the VX2000, 2100, PD150 and 170 are all the same.